What goes on ‘behind the panel’?

Jai Undurti, the founder of Hyderabad Graphic Novel Project, conducted a workshop on writing for sequential art

After the successful Comic Con Express in Hyderabad last year, the second chapter of the convention is approaching, perhaps, with more fun and exhilaration. The present chapter of the convention which will be held on October 10, 11 and 12, has some workshops lined up before hand for the comic buffs in the city. One such workshop was conducted on Saturday at The Coffee Cup, AS Rao Nagar. Titled ‘The Robots of Dharma’ after the exciting new sci-fi comic series set in future India, the workshop was conducted by writer Jai Undurti.

The workshop was organised for those who want to get into scripting of comic books and for fans who were just curious to know the nuts and bolts of it. Jai held a very detailed and interactive workshop by taking participants on a 'behind the panels' tour of his comic. The basics of writing for sequential art were well explained by him. Through the workshop, Jai took the participants through a visual tour and explained how comics emerged and existed since times immemorial. From traces of picture stories in Hampi in Karnataka to the wall paintings perfectly outlined in Dargah Yousufain in the city, Jai showed how well were these designed and how intentional were the layouts of these picture stories, most of which have however vanished, thanks to the archeology department.

Going ahead, Jai explained how the layout of each segment of a comic page is critical. “The fate of a comic is dependent on the artist, the better the layout, the more it sells. People first see the cover of a comic, if it’s appealing, they take it and if it’s not, then even excellent content can’t help,” he said.